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McLaren dresses in Gulf livery, reveals 720S and F1 car in orange and blue

If you’re a Gulf livery fan, McLaren has your back this week. McLaren revealed a 720S Gulf livery creation, and a Gulf livery for its Formula One cars to run around in for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. Starting with the road car, this Gulf livery is no sticker package. MclarenÂ’s MSO team spent 20 days painstakingly painting this design onto a 720S in an effort to make a callback to the McLaren F1 GTR raced by the Gulf GTC team. Both the blue and orange were perfectly matched, and the details are impressive. YouÂ’ll notice orange brake calipers, blue and orange interior stitching, Gulf logos on the headrests and side sills and an orange center stripe on the steering wheel with blue spokes.   Related: Arrow McLaren teams with streetwear brand Undefeated for new Indy 500 look   McLaren worked directly with Gulf on this entire build, too, having just renewed the relationship between the companies last year — that deal makes Gulf the preferred oil and gasoline supplier for McLaren cars, and theyÂ’re filled with both from the factory. If you want a 720S that looks like this, McLaren says that “a limited number of customers will exclusively have the opportunity to have their McLaren supercars hand-painted by MSO in Gulf livery.” That means not many, so raise your hand if you want one. McLaren F1 car Gulf livery View 4 Photos As for the F1 cars, this Gulf livery is perhaps even more exciting. We never get to see the Gulf livery in F1, so McLarenÂ’s one-off cars this year are going to be somewhat of a spectacle. Both Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris will race in this get-up while wearing matching racing suits and helmets. The cars look superb in photos, and we canÂ’t wait to see them on track this coming weekend. “This will be McLarenÂ’s homage to GulfÂ’s celebrated race car design,” says McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “WeÂ’re enormous fans of brave and bold design, and the striking Gulf blue is among the most loved liveries in racing, a celebrated piece of culture which transcends the world of motorsport.” Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren, Koenigsegg, Toyota, Ford, Dodge and Corvette Lego kits announced for 2021

Lego has announced a slew of car-themed sets for 2021. The six kits comprise nine vehicles and fall under the brick pusher's Speed Champion line of official OEM-licensed kits. News of their arrival comes from German toy retailer JB Spielwaren's pre-order listings, which show three single-car sets and three dual-car sets of matched marques. Starting with the McLaren Elva roadster, the kit consists of 263 pieces and is finished in blue. It seems to have a difficult time capturing the curves of the real-life Elva, but there's only so much you can do with a bunch of plastic blocks. Lego has made several other McLaren kits before, including the Senna, 720S, and a more advanced Senna GTR for the Technics line. Next up is the Koenigsegg Jesko, made up of 280 pieces and finished in white. Though the real-life Jesko is still curvy, this kit does a better job of replicating its aggressive maw, vents and cantilevered rear wing. Rounding out the single-car sets is the 299-piece Toyota GR Supra in yellow. This marks the first time Toyota has lent their license to Lego. Again, it struggles a bit to represent the curvy Supra, relying on printed details like logos and headlights to identify. On the other hand, the Chevrolet two-car does a stupendous job with the 1968 Corvette. The C3 is instantly recognizable as such. The C8-R race car it's paired with suffers from the same issues as some of the previous cars, though. The set contains 512 pieces, and funnily enough the C8 driver has short hair while the C3 driver sports a period-correct wavy mane. The next set is a 627-piece Mopar-themed pair, including a purple (Plum Crazy?) 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A and an SRT top fuel dragster. The race car is spot on, but the Challenger was probably tough to make given the width restrictions. It looks a couple of pegs too narrow compared to the wide proportions of the real deal. Last but not least, the Ford set contains a Bronco R and Ford GT Heritage Edition. Consisting of 660 pieces, the set does an excellent job of representing both cars. The GT looks faithful in its Gulf livery, and the Bronco R looks more like a real Bronco than the actual Bronco R race truck. All in all, it's always fun to see more Lego sets with real cars, and we're glad to see more manufacturers added to the roster. The single-car sets are recommended for ages 7 and up, while the double-car sets have an 8 years and up rating. Price in U.S.

McLaren sells its Woking, England, headquarters for $236 million

McLaren has found a buyer for its headquarters in Woking, England. It sold the facility to a New York-based investment firm named Global Net Lease, but it's not planning on moving to a new home anytime soon. Hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the British firm put a "for sale" sign on its lawn in September 2020 with a major catch: The new owner would need to lease the facility back to McLaren in the foreseeable future. Canadian real estate firm Colliers listed the carmaker's headquarters at GBP200 million (around $256 million at the time), and Global Net Lease announced it haggled the price down to GBP170 million, which represents about $236 million. The deal includes the McLaren Technology Center, the McLaren Production Center (which manufactures road cars, like the GT), and the McLaren Thought Leadership Center. Parking lots and a small man-made lake are part of the transaction, too. Moving everything to a new location would be immensely expensive, not to mention time-consuming, so McLaren will lease the 840,000-square-foot site from Global Net Lease for the next 20 years. What happens after that isn't known yet; McLaren will presumably either sign another multi-year lease or buy the site back. This is the second time McLaren has received a nine-digit cash injection in less than a year. In June 2020, it arranged a GBP150 million round of financing from the National Bank of Bahrain. At the time, it said the funding would allow it to get through the coronavirus crisis while putting it in the best possible position to be competitive in the future.  McLaren's sale of its headquarters isn't unprecedented in automotive history. In 2012, PSA Peugeot-Citroen (which is now part of Stellantis) sold its historic headquarters on Avenue de la Grande Armee in the heart of Paris for about $327 million to raise much-needed cash; it still leases the building in 2021. And, in January 2004, troubled British carmaker MG Rover sold most of its Longbridge, England, site to a property developer with plans to rent it. It signed a 35-year contract, and it optimistically added a renewal clause, but it shut down in April 2005 after years of losses. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren 720S GT3X throws out the rule book to go faster than a race car

Race cars are some of the fastest machines on Earth. And they could be faster, if it weren't for these pesky things called "rules." Proving this point is the McLaren 720S GT3X, which takes the basic GT3-class race car and cranks up the performance, because there are no rules for track toys. Nestled between the driver and the drive wheels is the expected twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 from the race car, complete with blueprinted cylinder heads and beefed up internals. But now it makes 710 horsepower, an increase of 197 over the GT3 race car. And at the push of a button, you can get a 30-horse overboost for a maximum of 740 horsepower. It's coupled to a six-speed sequential transmission. All of this is in a package weighing just 2,668 pounds, so it should be enormously entertaining. You can even share the experience with a friend, thanks to the redesigned roll cage that allowed for a second bucket seat and harness to be installed. Ideally a close friend, because that's what they'll be when they climb into the tight cockpit. But that's more than you can say for the single-occupant GT3 race car. McLaren also improved the brake cooling system to ensure the car can handle the extra weight of your ballast, er, friend. The downside to the 720S GT3X is that, because it follows no rules but its own, it's restricted in where it can drive. Neither a road car nor a race car, it's only able to be used as a track toy. Still, it should be a very fun track toy. And if you want one, McLaren is taking orders now. It can be purchased at a McLaren Motorsports dealer, and the car is built to order. McLaren will also provide technical support at your first track event with the car to ensure everything goes smoothly. No price for the car has been given, but that probably doesn't matter if you're thinking of buying one. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

McLaren Artura is a thoroughly new hybrid supercar

For the first time since the P1, McLaren has returned to the hybrid game with the Artura. And although it looks an awful lot like McLaren's Sports Series supercars, it's apparently an all-new car underneath, and it packs a very new twin-turbo V6 paired with an electric motor. The Artura, as previously announced, is based on a new carbon fiber tub, as well as many new chassis components. The rear suspension is all new, too. But the highlight is that hybrid twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. It's a 120-degree-angle engine with the turbos nestled in the V, and features a dry-sump oil system and 8,500-rpm redline. It also happens to be 110 pounds lighter than McLaren's usual V8s. Alone, it makes 577 horsepower and 431 pound-feet of torque. But it's also paired to an electric motor that makes 94 horsepower and 166 pound-feet. Together they make 671 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque. The motor also helps to fill in for the lack of torque at low rpm and provide better throttle response. With the 7.4-kWh battery, the motor can further provide gas-free driving for up to 19 miles. The engine and motor are paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It's unique in that it has no reverse gear, since the electric motor simply spins the other way for reverse. This makes the transmission smaller and lighter. Power goes solely to the rear wheels, and between them is an electronically controlled mechanical limited-slip differential, a first for McLaren. McLaren is quite proud of the fact that, despite the Artura including an electric motor and battery pack, the car weighs in at a respectable 3,305 pounds. With the relatively light weight and powerful engine, the car is capable of reaching 60 mph in 3 seconds on the way to a top speed of 205 mph. Performance isn't everything, though, and McLaren recognized this with the interior. It features a rather organic design, particularly for the instrument screen. That screen is attached to the steering column, so it moves and adjusts with the steering wheel. To the right is an 8-inch infotainment screen with an interesting watch crown-like control dial. The interior is packed with modern amenities such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, automatic high-beam headlights and even over-the-air updates. The Artura goes on sale in the third quarter of this year. Base price is $225,000. It will be available in four trims: the base model, Performance, TechLux and Vision.

How McLaren is rewriting the electric supercar formula

HEADLEY DOWN, England — There's nothing quite like the roar of a revving McLaren engine to set a petrolhead's pulse pounding, or the full-throated scream as it tears across the tarmac. Yet new gas-fueled engines like McLaren's could be illegal in many countries by 2030. The supercar maker, like all automakers, has to go electric — but that's easier said than done for a niche player that can't compromise the performance, and racing experience, that supports its rarefied pricing and exclusivity. McLaren could probably produce a fully-electric vehicle tomorrow, said Ruth Nic Aoidh, the British carmaker's executive director for purchasing. But the weight of today's batteries "would kill all of the attributes that make a McLaren a McLaren". So instead, Nic Aoidh says McLaren is taking more time to rethink the way it builds vehicles from the wheels up. It is also looking to overhaul its business model, to generate revenue from selling some of its new technology to other automakers. The people it ultimately has to keep happy are affluent enthusiasts like Steve Glynn, who make up McLaren's base. A racing driver, Glynn teaches others how to drive their supercars around private tracks, where the combination of raw speed and precise handling separate McLarens and Ferraris from cars that cost a tenth as much. Glynn just bought his fourth McLaren, a black 620R, in January. He declined to say what he paid for it, but the 620R starts at around 250,000 pounds ($346,000). "I'm a petrolhead through and through, but I think we have to accept the future of electrification beckons everyone," he said at his home in Headley Down, a village in southern England less than hour's drive from McLaren's Woking headquarters. "But an electrified McLaren would still have to put that same smile on your face." Even for deep-pocketed behemoths like Volkswagen AG, developing electric vehicles is an expensive proposition that is taxing their capital resources. Other smaller premium carmakers like Volkswagen unit Bentley or Tata Motors Ltd's Jaguar Land Rover, which both plan to electrify their model lineups by 2030, can rely on their owners' financial backing to make the switch. But for niche manufacturers like McLaren, lack of scale is a major challenge. Last year McLaren said it would cut 1,200 jobs - more than a quarter of its workforce - as it dealt with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. McLaren's cars start at around 120,000 pounds and range up to 750,000 pounds.

McLaren Artura hybrid officially set for February 16 reveal

The long-awaited hybrid-powered McLaren Artura will be revealed next Tuesday, February 16. There’s a special showcase video that McLaren is putting on from Woking, England, that will come online at 7:01 p.m. ET that day. McLaren promises folks from its team and “brand personalities” (i.e. celebrities) will be introducing the car. To catch the event, McLaren says youÂ’ll want to visit this site that will be streaming the video live at reveal time. We donÂ’t have all the information as it concerns the Artura, but we do know some vitals. McLaren says it will be powered by a hybrid powertrain that features a completely new V6 engine. This will be the first McLaren since the brandÂ’s road car reinvention with the MP4-12C that isnÂ’t powered by a twin-turbo V8. ItÂ’s unclear how many electric motors will supplement the gas engine, but a previous report from Autocar predicted at least two with power going to the rear wheels exclusively. The Artura will also use McLarenÂ’s new Carbon Lightweight Architecture that is specifically designed for electrified models.  Above, youÂ’re looking at the single teaser image that McLaren released with its announcement today. ItÂ’s unmistakable as a McLaren in profile, as the shape looks a whole lot like the 570S. To see the car in full view (but slathered in concealing camouflage) check out McLarenÂ’s preview photos in this post here. And if youÂ’d like to see the carÂ’s full reveal, make sure to circle back here to this link right before the reveal is meant to begin. Related video:

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris tests positive for COVID-19

McLaren driver Lando Norris has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now self-isolating, his Formula One team said on Tuesday. McLaren said in a statement that Norris had returned a positive result on Monday in Dubai, where he is on a holiday before the team's training camp. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Norris, 21, said that he took a COVID-19 test after losing his sense of taste and smell. "I feel alright and have no other symptoms," he wrote on Twitter. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Norris is the fourth F1 driver to test positive for the novel coronavirus after seven-times champion Lewis Hamilton, Mexican Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll of Racing Point (now Aston Martin) returned positive tests last season. Norris finished ninth in the drivers standings last season.

Roll like His Airness in this Mercedes SLR McLaren previously owned by Michael Jordan

Often called the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan also has an interest in fast machines, as evidenced by the recent announcement that he would be establishing a NASCAR team, 23XI Racing, together with Denny Hamlin and featuring Bubba Wallace behind the wheel. It's hardly surprising, then, that he would also be an owner of multiple supercars, many of which could be seen in the ESPN documentary The Last Dance. One of Jordan's previous supercars, this 2007 Mercedes SLR McLaren, is now up for sale on eBay Motors. Besides its celebrity provenance, this Mercedes SLR McLaren is special for another reason: It's the special 722 Edition, built to commemorate the 1955 Mercedes-Benz win at the Mille Miglia. That winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLR racer, piloted by Sir Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson, was car #722 (so designated because of its 7:22 a.m. start time). The SLR McLaren 722 Edition features a 650-horsepower supercharged 5.5-liter V8 engine and is able to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds. Top speed is 209 mph. Good thing the front splitter and rear diffuser are modified for increased downforce at high speeds. The ride height also is lowered and the suspension stiffened compared to the regular car, and larger brake rotors are fitted. The interior brings leather and Alcantara upholstery along with gloss-finished carbon fiber trim. Special black wheels and subtle red "722" badges complete the picture. This car has 1,038 miles on the clock, so it must not have been in heavy rotation with Jordan's many other rides. At this writing, the car has a bid of $35,100 with the reserve not met. We'd guess bidding has a way to go before someone has a realistic chance of driving this baby home, since the Buy-It-Now price is $695,750. Featured Gallery Mercedes SLR McLaren ex-Michael Jordan Auto News Celebrities McLaren Mercedes-Benz Auctions Coupe Supercars

Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar